Rep. Chris Gibson believes State of the Union touched on ‘common ground’

While President Obama touched on points of “common ground” between Democrats and Republicans, more needs to be done to reduce the federal deficit than what was proposed, Rep. Chris Gibson said in assessing his first State of the Union address.

“As I’ve said for a long time I think the first step for deficit reduction is growing the economy because we are never going to balance the budget at 10 percent unemployment,” said Gibson, R-Kinderhook. “What I’m look for is for the president to recognize the seriousness of our situation—of our budget situation—and to recognize the fact that we are going to have to curtail federal spending,” said Gibson.

Rep. Chris Gibson, R-N.Y. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)

Although both sides of the aisle may differ on how to reduce the deficit, Gibson does hope the bipartisan shown last night regarding seating arrangements extends to Congress tomorrow.

“As he pointed out during his remarks, as we go forward we are going to have to have the House, the Senate and the President agree on matters or we are not going to go anywhere,” he said.

One big issue Gibson hopes Democrats and Republicans can work together on is energy.

“I think that energy will be a game-changer for the economy and something that Republicans and Democrats can work together on as we go forward,” said Gibson.

In his speech, Obama acknowledged the importance of energy, talking about the need for America to “reinvent our energy policy” which includes decreasing dependence on biofuels, increasing the number of electric cars on the road and creating “clean energy jobs.”

Although ideologies may differ, in light of the recent tragedy in Tucson, Gibson believes Obama’s speech showed an appropriate amount of bipartisanship but also reflected the realities of the midterm elections.

“I thought he took a very good tone in terms of his remarks but there was a recognition of the new realities coming out of the November election.”

Overall Gibson believes Republicans and Democrats can all agree on one thing.

“It’s important that in the end what we do reflects the will of the American people.”